Viet Nam: Quality and Safety Enhancement of Agricultural Products and Biogas Development Project

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Lessons

Piloting new and innovative concepts is essential.

Under this project, the government of Viet Nam embarked on innovative concepts such as the safe agricultural zone (SAZ) and the Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP) that positively impacted project-supported households and communities. Evidence from surveys and field observations during Asian Development Bank (ADB) review missions indicated that the project had improved agricultural practices and product safety and quality. VietGAP-certified households had generally attained higher farm incomes. Better processing facilities in SAZ models enabled greater penetration of more discerning food markets. Nevertheless, it would have been more beneficial if the project covered less provinces, but intensified support to the participating provinces. While facilitating better results through focused implementation, narrowing the project coverage to a few suitable sites would have allowed its innovative components to undergo a pilot stage and be finetuned for broader and more effective implementation.

Project Cycle Stage:

Preparation

Implementation

Effective design and implementation of agricultural value chains (AVCs) can enhance agricultural productivity and incomes.

Several weaknesses in the design and implementation of SAZ, the project’s AVC model, became apparent just as soon as it was operationalized. For example, the plan to launch three demonstration sites ─ one each for production, primary processing, and trading ─ in each SAZ province was not firmly grounded as this would depend on the production and marketing characteristics of and existing facilities in or close to the province. The idea of establishing separate demonstration sites for processing and trading was not appropriate since such activities are frequently integrated. The target to ensure that at least 500 production, processing, and marketing enterprises would be certified by 2012 was ambiguous as no clear-cut definition of a production enterprise was provided. The target area to be covered by SAZ was also too large and cannot be met by project funding. Despite these weaknesses and its small coverage, the SAZs increased the production and processing of vegetables, fruits, and tea certified as safe by 633% and 351% respectively, between 2009 and 2015. By demonstrating what could be done on a larger scale, the project has highlighted the need for enhancing SAZ design and implementation to maximize its potential in improving agricultural productivity and incomes and facilitating the development of a profitable food industry that supplies safe and high-quality food to domestic and international markets.

Project Cycle Stage:

Preparation

Implementation

Coordination strengthens donor complementation and the value-addition of ADB-assisted projects.

There was some confusion about the number of biogas digesters to be financed by the project. While the midterm review addressed this confusion by deducting from the 40,000 digesters stipulated in the original project design and monitoring framework (DMF) the 20,000 units to be financed by the government of Netherlands through another project, this was not reflected in ADB’s system. But the confusion did not seem to matter as, by project completion, 30,078 households received financial assistance for this component. To avoid the repeat of this experience, which can derail a project from achieving its intended results, serious efforts should be undertaken to (i) coordinate with development partners the targets and level of assistance to be provided by ADB for projects or project components that overlap with those supported by partners; (ii) include in the DMF only those targets that have been finalized with partners and borrowing governments; and (iii) incorporate in ADB’s system and documents all the adjustments made during project implementation. Coordinating with partners the design and implementation of projects, as appropriate, will also enhance donor complementation and the value-addition of ADB-assisted projects.

Project Cycle Stage:

Preparation

Implementation

Failure to establish an effective project performance monitoring system (PPMS) can undermine success.

The project required a PPMS to be established in 2010, but the contract for this service was not awarded until December 2013. The contracted firm conducted a baseline survey and prepared quarterly reports. However, as it completed the government project completion report (PCR) in December 2015, 6 months before project closing, it failed to fully and accurately report all project accomplishments, thus, creating the risk of project performance misrepresentation and misreading. As a corrective measure, a separate monitoring and evaluation system was established under a related policy and advisory technical assistance grant. Besides enabling a reliable end-of-project performance rating, an effective PPMS should also be able to generate information to support effective project management throughout implementation.

Project Cycle Stage:

Implementation

High turnover of ADB project officers can weaken project implementation.

ADB changed the project officer several times between appraisal and completion. While the situation was helped by assigning a permanent analyst to the project, the project would have benefited more from consistent specialist support. To avoid disruptions in specialist guidance and implementation support, ADB should minimize changes in project officers in ongoing and future projects. At the very least, it should ensure smooth handover between outgoing and incoming ADB project officers.

Project Cycle Stage:

Implementation

Background

Over 2003–2008, Viet Nam’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an average of 7.7% per year. While agriculture’s GDP share declined from 22.5% in 2003 to 20.4% in 2008, the country’s agricultural products achieved greater competitiveness and their exports expanded significantly. Economic growth, which raised annual per capita GDP by about 13%, also resulted in greater demand for food products with assured quality and safety. This required the government to develop a strong institutional and regulatory framework for agricultural product quality and safety. It also provided an opportunity for developing a profitable food industry that supplies safe food to domestic and international markets.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved in March 2009 a $95 million loan for the Quality and Safety Enhancement of Agricultural Products and Biogas Development Project. The project was designed to (i) create effective regulatory institutions for state management of agriproduct safety and quality systems; (ii) accelerate the development of agro-production, processing, and marketing to ensure the safety and quality of vegetable, fruit, and tea products; and (iii) support biogas development to supply clean energy to households and reduce safety and health hazards from livestock waste in 16 provinces. Its expected impact was sustainable and equitable agricultural growth that provides increased livelihood opportunities and improves human health. Its intended outcome was quality and safety improvements in Viet Nam’s agricultural outputs that meet domestic and international requirements.

Under the project, five new national good agricultural practice (GAP) standards were developed and incorporated into the Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP), which were subsequently harmonized and strengthened into VietGAP 2. Specialized food safety units were created at the national and provincial levels. A nationwide food safety monitoring system was installed and a provincial-level food safety index (FSI) was launched in 2011. Certification management trainings were provided to relevant government staff, certification bodies, laboratories, academic institutes, and private enterprises. At project closing, 23 nationally-accredited certification bodies were operating, covering all provinces.

A total of 182,187 hectares (ha) were assessed and approved for inclusion in safe agriculture zones (SAZs), conceived by the government as demonstration sites for the production, processing, and trading of safe and high-quality agriproducts. 3,100 ha of these areas, hosting 95 SAZ models established by the project, were provided with new or improved infrastructure, including market access roads and electricity, water supply, and waste disposal systems. 27,477 households, of which 6,196 were women-headed, 930 were poor, and 1,575 were from ethnic minority groups, were certified according to VietGAP standards as growers/producers of safe, high-quality agriproducts. Replacement of less pest- and disease-tolerant fruit and tea varieties was completed on16,009 ha, covering 112,981 households. Research and development of the replacement varieties were financed by the project.

National and provincial government laboratories were upgraded to support the certification system. In parallel, over 200 private sector laboratories emerged to meet the requirements of VietGAP and certification systems. 30,078 biogas household digesters were constructed, benefitting 136,875 people. Training in biogas digester construction, maintenance, and safe operation was provided to 54,993 potential household adopters and 4,744 contractors and technicians and project management staff.

Because of the project, the production and processing of vegetables, fruit, and tea certified as safe increased remarkably between 2009 and 2015. However, only 5% of the country’s total production of vegetable, fruit, and tea was certified safe in 2015. While the achievement was less than the 20% target, the 5% certification rate was still significant, since it represented 212,000 tons of certified produce in 2015, as compared to 47,000 tons in 2009.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was the project executing agency. Provincial People’s Committees acted as executing agencies for provincial-level subprojects. Several project management units were formed to oversee the implementation of the different project components.

Project Information

Project Name:

Quality and Safety Enhancement of Agriculture Products and Biogas Development Project

Report Date:

July, 2018

Main Sector:

Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Rural Development

Country:

Viet Nam

Project Number:

39421-013

Report Type: